Chamber leader: Market casinos better to compete with Mass.

A Tuesday vote by Springfield, Mass., residents to approve an MGM Resorts International casino has prompted one local tourism leader to call for better in-state marketing of Eastern Connecticut’s casinos.

By JAMES MOSHER

The Bulletin

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Jul. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 19, 2013 at 7:02 PM

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Jul. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 19, 2013 at 7:02 PM

A Tuesday vote by Springfield, Mass., residents to approve an MGM Resorts International casino has prompted one local tourism leader to call for better in-state marketing of Eastern Connecticut’s casinos.

Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun also are competing for the three resort licenses authorized by the Massachusetts state government. Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau President Tony Sheridan said he supports the Connecticut operators efforts to build casinos in Milford and Palmer, Mass. Whether the Connecticut enterprises get Massachusetts licenses or not, in-state marketing by the bureau and other entities needs to get stronger.

“We need to do a better job of marketing the casinos not just out of state by within the state,” said Sheridan, who is also president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. “We’ve improved things in the past year, but more should be done.”

The bureau, a group of Eastern Connecticut’s largest tourism operators including Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, runs marketing campaigns centered on its Mystic.org website.

Sheridan said he has had discussions with officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office about the casinos’ future. Sheridan said he plans to reach out to Hartford-area chambers of commerce to map strategies for keeping Connecticut residents from crossing the border to gamble in Massachusetts.

The state Department of Transportation hasn’t had any discussions about increasing service to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun once Massachusetts casinos come online, spokesman Kevin Nursick said.

Mohegan Sun is still working toward signing a host agreement with Palmer, Mass. Earlier this year the casino forecast an agreement would be signed two months ahead of an expected September referendum.

“We are still targeting July for a signed host agreement,” Mohegan Sun said in a prepared statment released by spokeswoman Laura Wareck. “We are making progress and are in ongoing discussions with the town manager and other representatives of Palmer.”

MGM’s bid looks to be the strongest among the entities, including Mohegan Sun, vying for the western Massachusetts license, analyst Roger Gros said.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s efforts to build in West Springfield, Mass., are also formidable, said Gros, who is publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine.

“I’d make MGM and Springfield the favorite now,” he wrote in an email after Tuesday’s ballot in which 57.6 percent voted in favor of MGM’s $800 million plan. “The only real competition is Hard Rock because of their brand and the connections of the guys who would own the casino.”

If MGM or Hard Rock get a license that would be a bitter pill for Foxwoods because Foxwoods has both brands represented at its Connecticut complex in the form of naming pact for the MGM Grand at Foxwoods hotel/casino as well as a Hard Rock Cafe restaurant, analysts say.

Page 2 of 2 - Foxwoods will lose at least 15 percent of its business and Mohegan Sun 10 percent when Massachusetts casinos begin operating, Gros estimated. Neither casino has posted a monthly increase in slot machine revenue, their largest income sources, in more than a year amid growing competition from Rhode Island and New York casinos.

Foxwoods is “hopeful” the Milford Board of Selectmen will approve its idea for a casino in early August with a town-wide referendum projected for October, said Stephen Oaks, a spokesman for Foxwoods Massachusetts. That would leave Foxwoods only two months to sign a host community agreement, but Oaks said that can be accomplished.

“These votes show that people are receptive to the benefits that gaming can bring them,” he said.

Although considered among the entities, including Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Caesars Entertainment Corp. vying for the Boston-area license, Foxwoods sees the Milford location as a strong asset in part because of easier transportation access, Oaks said.